When I was about fifteen I had a defining, Proustian moment over a plate of fresh crab with chilli and coconut, sitting under the palm trees in the conservatory at the Bombay Brasserie. It certainly made me want to eat in more restaurants, and is probably one of the reasons I started writing about food.

So it was with high hopes that I returned there recently to check the place out, post 25th anniversary makeover - but with a heavy heart that I discovered that the palm trees had been replaced by a contemporary water feature and my beloved crab had morphed into a second-rate 'Tellicherry' concoction.

More promising, perhaps, is the crab festival to be held at the far more tastefully decked out new-kid-on-the-Marylebone-block, Trishna, which will run from March 9th-15th, and feature dishes like snow crab pakora with lime and green chilli pickle and tandoori king crab with ginger kachumber (a tasty sort of salsa).

Another new-look Indian where the emphasis is on seafood is the groovy Dockmaster's House in Canary Wharf, that has a lively menu devised by Navin Bhatia, formerly of Cafe Lazeez, and an even livelier basement bar.

Me, though, I'll be nursing my Brasserie sorrows by sticking to my trusty Holy Cow deliveries for a while. Sniff.

TODAY'S EVENT PICKS

Flay & Deville return to Madame JoJo's full of marvels. 8pm, 8-10 Brewer Street, W1F. £10.

See the other side of social work through cabaret. 9:30pm, Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, W1D. £15.

See Ray Johnson's collages and mailings here for the first time. 11am - 6pm, 56 Artillery Lane, E1. Free.

Daft red hot sperm. You decide. 8pm, New Cross Inn, 323 New Cross Rd, SE14. Free.